To,
Shri Narendra
Modi,
Hon’ble Prime
Minister of India
Subject: Civil Society Appeal to ensure
that rights of children are protected during the COVID -19 pandemic
Dear Sir,
Greetings from the Right to Education
Forum.
Firstly, on behalf of the Right to
Education Forum (RTE Forum), a national level advocacy network working for the universalization
of education, we would like to acknowledge the efforts of the Government of
India to address the spread of and control the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is a very challenging period
for the country and everyone, especially the elderly, street dwellers, informal
sector workers and the poor who have lost their livelihood in the wake of the
lockdown. The children become particularly vulnerable as their parents are
deprived of income. What is
of utmost importance is their safety and security with adequate food,
protection, emotional support and shelter. At the same time, there are
also long-term consequences as a result of the loss of access to education. The
children coming from marginalized and disadvantaged section, including children
with disabilities, have been hit particularly harshly because of the lockdown. Extraordinary
circumstances demand extraordinary measures, and every measure should be in
accordance with the values and provisions of the Constitution of India. These
measures must have a humane approach and provide a level playing field for all.
We would urge the government to take the
following steps so that children enjoy their rights to survival, protection,
education and development during and after the COVID-19 pandemic without any
discrimination based on religion, gender, class and caste:
Ensure the right
to Health and Nutrition for all children
1. To safeguard food security of India’s children,
ensure smooth implementation of the notification for home delivery of mid-day
meals and the Supreme Court’s suo moto order for providing nutritional food for
children and lactating mothers through the Anganwadi centres for children on an
urgent basis. The mid-day meal can include either dry food or cooked meals. Provisions
must be made for the safety (including protective equipment and hazard pay) of
all Anganwadi and ASHA workers and personnel supplying mid-day meals. Provisions
for public transportation to reach the delivery points/households regularly
must be made. The government should enforce orders for ensuring uninterrupted
supply of food to students residing in residential schools and hostels. For this purpose, the RTE Forum urges the
Government of India to distribute food to all children as part of Integrated
Child Development Services (ICDS) and Mid-Day
Meal (MDM)programme till risk of the pandemic is over. Free ration should be
made available to every person in need, and supply should not be denied due to
the absence of ration cards.
2.
Take steps to ensure the health and welfare of India’s poor, which
would benefit their children. Rapid testing for Covid-19 should be ramped up and
made free in both Government and private hospitals for everyone. While the enhanced
pension and fund transfers under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana are
welcome, the amount should be increased in line with the prevailing minimum
wage and made unconditional to not restrict access to services due to absence
of necessary documents. Further, there is an urgent need to monitor the
delivery of the relief materials at the village unit level.
3.
In coordination with the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD),
the government should ensure uninterrupted monitoring of health services,
especially for the malnourished children, to prevent adverse health conditions
during this period. All adolescent girls
should continue receiving sanitary napkins, IFA and supplementary nutrition
under SABLA and RKSK or the ICDS scheme or School Health Program. In
coordination with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social
justice and Empowerment, the government must ensure that children with
chronic health conditions or those requiring medication including long term
medication are supported as are the therapy and other rehabilitation needs of
children with disabilities.
4. Immediate
admission/linkage of children of the migrant workers should be established with
the nearest schools to enable them to access nutrition and other entitlements. The
government should also establish a village-based mechanism to maintain data of
migrant families and children in the age group of 3-18 years, who would need to
be enrolled in Anganwadis and schools post lockdown.
To ensure Right to Protection
1. Steps should be taken for child protection, including
identification of children at risk of violence and abuse during the lockdown.
Helplines and other child protection measures should be declared essential
services and kept open. Child protection
committees at district and block levels should be activated to monitor child
protection.
2. Safety of children in shelter homes and on the
migration routes is essential. Members of Village Level Child Protection
Committee must be tasked for tracking children at risk, especially girls who
are vulnerable to early marriage or trafficking. The Committee should conduct
door to door roll call while maintaining physical distance to ensure that
children at risk, especially girls, are present in their homes to prevent
trafficking. Childline or Police or the local Child Welfare Committee should be
informed when risks are identified. The staff of these entities would need to
be declared essential workers and provided with necessary protective equipment
to play this role.
3. There must be greater
vigilance and stringent action against the violators of child labour laws. We
demand sensitive and empathetic support to affected children. Child labour
is a gross violation of children’s rights, and the implementation of the law
against child labour is of utmost priority in the current situation.
4. The government must ensure the training of public
health workers and other volunteers and equipping them with adequate Personnel
Protection Equipment (PPE). Social security measures for them are extremely
critical at this hour.
5. The
Department of Women and Child Development should issue an advisory to all ICPS
as per the Supreme Court directions dated 3rd April
2020. (https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/consider-releasing-children-from-observation-homes-on-interim-bail-amid-covid-19-sc-154751).
6. The government must ensure that schools are equipped
with safe drinking water and adequate hygiene facilities. After school resumes,
sitting arrangements should also be made in a manner that physical distance
could be maintained along with regular sanitization of the school and its
neighbouring premises. School-based protocols to identify, track, manage and
support the child should be prepared, and adequate orientation of headteachers
should be ensured. It should be ensured that the schools used for quarantine,
are disinfected properly before they are reopened.
To ensure Right to Education
1. Additionally,
it is essential to provide for educational support to all children so that
children continue to learn and build resilience to cope with the current
situation. This will also address the risks of children falling prey to child
labour, trafficking, child marriage and large-scale drop-out from school. Online
programmes are not accessible to the majority of children in the country.
Therefore the use of free offline communication media (including Radio and
Doordarshan) to broadcast /telecast innovative programmes should be implemented
widely. Doordarshan should, in collaboration
with NCERT/CBSE, telecast effective programs to help children understand
different concepts grade-wise as a substitute for the online syllabus-based
teaching. Any other technological solutions
need to be designed carefully taking into account the existing
differential access to technology across caste, income-levels, gender and
communities so that it does not further exacerbate the prevailing
inequalities in learning opportunities.
2.
Offline programs should also focus on all children, including 3-6
years old. A task force for advising on
TV Programmes should be constituted. Offline programs also have better reach to
children.
3. Wherever possible, the children and parents within the
vicinity of the neighbourhood school should be connected through WhatsApp
groups comprising of SDMC/SMC members and parents. These WhatsApp groups can be
used to keep in constant touch with parents (if teachers are not in the same
locality) and children. These WhatsApp groups must be used only for matters
relating to children's education and nothing else. Wherever necessary, the
teachers can visit children to offer counselling or advise and ensure that the mental
health of children is safeguarded. The same procedure needs to be followed in
case of AWCs and Crèches. Educational materials could be
provided along with relief and dry food packages by the Government.
4.
The academic calendar should be
revised immediately through every possible suitable arrangements and
adjustment. Steps should also be taken to design and implement an
accelerated learning curriculum focusing on foundational skills to recover lost
instructional time when schools re-open. Simultaneously, reducing the syllabus
load for all classes for 2020-21 and cancelling class examinations is urged.
5.
Schools must be instructed to
track all enrolled children, especially girls, once normalcy returns to ensure
that no child drops out.
6. Incentives,
PPEs and insurance should be provided to the
teachers as they are being encouraged to visit home and make home delivery
(textbooks, other educational materials) and hence are at risk. It is essential
to look at equipping teachers with the necessary skills so that they are able
to provide online/offline support to children during and post-pandemic.
7.
Under the provisions of Section 10(2)(1) of the Disaster Management
Act, an order must be issued to place a moratorium on private schools hiking or
collecting any fees until normalcy is restored.
8.
The government must ensure that all
eligible children receive scholarships at the earliest and special incentives
are given to girls to enable completion of their education.
9. In the long run, the Government needs to recognize
the critical role that the public sector has played in the implementation of
govt’s directives to curb the pandemic and increase investments in
strengthening the public health and education systems.
We would also like to mention here, the proactive
and critical role the Civil Society is playing in providing humanitarian relief
and assistance to the people in need, particularly the marginalized
communities. NITI Aayog has also appealed to NGOs to assist the Government in
tiding over this situation. The Civil Society has extended collaboration and
support in all possible ways to the Government in reaching out to the unreached
at this hour of crisis.
Sir, it is our earnest request to you to strengthen
this collaboration and partnership with the Civil Society and implement our
suggestions so that people on the margins can access the support provided by
the Government without any obstruction or hassle.
SIGNATORIES
1.
Prof.
Muchkund Dubey, President, Council for Social Development
2. Shantha Sinha, Former Chairperson National
Commission for the Protection of Child Rights
3.
Dr.
Vasanthi Devi, Former Vice-Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University,
Tamil Nadu
4.
Prof.
R. Govinda, Former Vice-Chancellor NUEPA and Distinguished Professor, Council
for Social Development.
5.
Prof.
Manoranjan Mohanty, Retired Professor of Political Science, University of
Delhi and Vice-President, Council for Social Development
6.
Shri
Kedarnath Panday, MLC and President Bihar Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh
7.
Rampal
Singh, President, All India Primary Teachers Federation
8.
Prof.
Emeritus Venita Kaul, Ambedkar University
9. Prof. Jayati Ghosh, Economist, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi
10.
Aruna
Roy, Majdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (MKSS)
11. Devika Singh, Alliance for
Right to ECD
12. Dr. Mira Shiva, Public Health
Physician
13.
Prof.
DM Diwakar, Former Director, A.N Sinha Institute, Patna
14. Prof. Anita Rampal, Former Professor (retired),
Delhi University
15.
Prof Geetha
Nambissan, Former Professor (retired), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
16.
Prof. Poonam
Batra, Delhi University
17.
Ashok
Agrawal, Senior Advocate, High Court, Delhi
18.
Harsh
Mander, Former IAS and Director, Centre for Equity Studies
19.
Dr.
Jyotsna Jha, Centre for Budget and Policy Studies
20.
Dr.
Niranjanardhya, National Law School of India University and PAFRE
21.
Ambarish
Rai, Right to Education Forum
22.
Nikhil
Dey, Shankar, Majdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (MKSS)
23. Razia Ismail, Convenor on behalf of India
Alliance for Child Rights (IACR) (National)
24.
Radhika
M. Alkazi, Founder and
Managing Trustee, ASTHA
25. Mridula Bajaj, Alliance for Right
to ECD
26. Dr Vandana Prasad, Community
Paediatrician
27. Asha Mishra, BGVS
28.
Annie Namla, Wada
Na Todo Abhiyan
29.
Ramakant Rai,
Convener, National Coalition for Education
30. Zakiya Kurien, Alliance for Right
to ECD
31.
Anjela
Taneja, Oxfam India
32.
Dr.
Geeta Verma & Seema Rajput, CARE India
33.
Sanjay
Bhattacharya, World Vision India
34.
Priti
Mahara, Director of Policy, Research and Advocacy, Child Rights and You
35.
Aekta
Chanda, Child Fund India
36.
Sudatta
Khuntia, National lead - Public Education and Child Rights, Action Aid
37. Sumitra Mishra, Alliance for Right
to ECD and Mobile Creches
38. Vipul
Mudgal, Director and Chief Executive, Common Cause
39.
Anindit Roy
Chowdhury, Director Programme and Policy, Save the Children
40.
Dr. Aparajita
Sharma, Council for Social Development
41.
Bondita
Acharya, RTE
Forum Assam and Purva Bharati Educational Trust, Jorhat, Assam
42.
Mujahid Nafees, RTE Forum Gujarat
43.
Ashok
Kumar, Dr. AV Baliga Memorial Trust and Campaign against Child Labour
44.
Ravi
Duggal Independent Public Health Researcher and Activist Mumbai
45.
Ritu
Mehra, Pardarshita
46.
Anil
Pradhan, RTE Forum Odisha
47.
Sidharth
Chopra, Samarthya
48.
Yuman
Hussain, Azad Foundation, Kisanganj
49.
Raju
Narzary, Assam
50.
Digambar
Narzary, Assam
51. Ashok
Khandelwal, Right to Food Campaign
52.
Aysha, Right to Food campaign
53.
Hema Das,The
EAST,Tezpur, Assam.
54.
Protiva Kundu,
Additional Coordinator-Research, Centre for Budget and Governance
Accountability
55. Radha
Holla Bhar, Alliance for Right to ECD
56. Dr. Geeta Chopra, Associate
Professor, Human Development and Childhood Studies, University of Delhi
57. Chirashree Ghosh, Sr.Manager
(Advocacy), MOBILE CRECHES
58. Dipa
Sinha, Right to Food
59.
Amrita Jain, Mobile Creches and Alliance
for Right to ECD
60.
Asha Singh, Alliance for Right to ECD
61.
Neeru Bhatnagar , Mobile Creches
62.
Bikash Das, Ph.D (JNU), President, Legal
Service Institute – CLAP
63.
Anjali Bapat, ECCED Network
-Pune
64.
J. John, Former
Director, Centre for Education and Communication
65.
Father Cedric
Prakash, Human Rights Activist, Ahmedabad
66.
Shloka Kumar, LAMP
Fellow
67.
Lokesh, Executive
Director, Centre for Education and Communication
68.
Sudhir Katiyar,
National Struggle Committee for Brick Kiln Workers
69.
Dr. James Regina
C. Dabhi, s.j. NAVSARJAN Xaviers Cell of Human Development, Surat Gujarat
70.
Indu Prakash
Singh, City Makers Mission International
71.
Neeru Chaudhary,
Child Rights Consultant
72. Shweta Damle, Habitat and Livelihood Welfare
Association
73. Aatreyee Sen, RTE Forum HP
- Hemangi Joshi, Unnati
ISEC, Distt. Akola, Maharashtra RTE Forum
75. P. Joseph Victor Raj, HOPE, Puducherry,
76. Anil kumar Roy, RTE Forum, Bihar & Association
for Study and Action;
77.
Rajeev Ranjan,
Bihar Bal Awaj Manch;
78.
Sanjeev Kumar
Sinha, SCoRE;
79.
Binod Sinha,
Oxfam, UP;
80.
K. Murthy, Pasumai
Trust, RTE Forum Tamilnadu
81.
Gautam
Bandhyopadyay, RTE Forum Chhattisgarh
82.
Prabir Basu, RTE
Forum West Bengal
83.
Sumi Krishna, Former
President (2005-08) Indian Association for Women's Studies
84.
Virginia
Saldanha, Indian Women Theologians’ Forum
85.
Deepti Modak,
In-charge, New Horizons Health and Research Foundation, Mumbai, India
86.
Johanna Lokhande - National Centre for
Advocacy Studies
87.
Brishti Banerjee,
Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA)
88.
Sarmila Patnaik,
India Insitute of Education and Care (IIEC), Odisha
89.
Rita Mishra, TAP
India Foundation, Haryana
90.
Sheeva Dubey, Youth for Unity &
Voluntary Action (YUVA), Mumbai.
91.
Shaoni Mukherjee,
Human Rights Law Network
92. Shreekumar, Activist and Farmer, Sangatya Commune,
Udupi, Karnataka
93. Alicia Tauro, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action
(YUVA), Mumbai.
94. Sachikanta
Pradhan, The Humanity, Odisha
95. Dibakar Nayak, Smruti Village Development
Organisation, Odisha
96. Nagarjun G T, Assistant Professor, Chennai Dr
Ambedkar Government Law College
97. Nirja Bhatnagar, Action Aid, regional office
98. Farida Bagasrawala - Save The Children India.
Mumbai Maharastra
99. Girish Samant, Chairman, The Shikhan Mandal,
Goregaon
100. Avani organization from Kolhapur
101. Jayvantrao Thakere President & Dr.Sharad
Javadekar, Akhil Bharatiya Samajwadi Shikshan Haka Sabha
102. Sonali Dadasaheb More, Organization : Tara Mobile
Creches, Pune., State : Maharashtra.
103. Devendra
Gandhi, Dalit Muslim Adhiklar Sangthan, Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh
104. Farida Bano,
India Youth Federation, West Bengal
105. Ranjan Kumar
Ghosh, Jan Chetna Manch, Bokaro, Jharkhand
106. Minakhi Tamuli, City Associate, Youth For Unity and
Voluntary Action, Guwahati
107. Lok Manch National
Facilitation Centre
